Ratched Season 2 Isn't Happening, Despite Netflix Picking It Up

Ryan Murphy's 2020 horror story explored the origins of one of cinema's most iconic villains, and took a lot of unexpected turns along the way. Murphy's shows are infamous for ending their stories after just one season, with anthology series like American Horror Story, Feud, and American Crime Story completely changing things up with each new season. Initially, it looked like Ratched would be a shift away from that, as it was picked up for a second season. But after years of silence, Sarah Paulson finally confirmed Season 2 would no longer be happening.

In early 2024, almost three and a half years after Ratched first aired, Paulson broke the disheartening update to a fan in a video. “No,” she simply responded when asked if the series would be coming back. The news shouldn’t be too surprising, since nobody’s heard any updates about Ratched for several years, but it is a bit of a shock since Netflix had already renewed the show for a second season.

The cliffhanger ending of the Ratched Season 1 finale clearly seemed to be setting up more, and sure enough, a second season was officially greenlit at the time. In fact, Netflix picked up a second season along with Ratched's first season back in 2017, so the whole creative team behind the show thought the Season 1 finale wouldn't be the end of the story while they were making it. The series was the first one announced as part of Murphy's lucrative Netflix deal, which was likely a big part in the very early renewal.

And there was already a structure prepared for Season 2. It was actually supposed to be longer than its debut run. Season 2 of Ratched would’ve consisted of 10 episodes, which is two more than Season 1 had.

Sadly, given Paulson’s recent update about the axed season, fans will never get the answers they thought were coming.

Spoiler alert: The rest of this post contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of Ratched. Season 1 ended on a wild cliffhanger, which teased a whole different vibe for Season 2. At the end of the season, Edmund learned about Mildred's plan to have him euthanized prior to his execution, and was able to escape captivity with the help of fellow patient Charlotte. With Edmund gone, Mildred had no more reason to remain at the hospital, so she followed through on her plan to move to Mexico with Gwen for a relaxing life together.

That calm was quickly ruined by Edmund, though, when he called Mildred up with the threat that he was coming after her. Mildred echoed Edmund's threats, telling him that was the one coming to kill him. The ending suggested Season 2 would be all about Mildred and Edmund's lethal cat-and-mouse game, as the two siblings try to kill one another. The biggest change that storyline seemed to imply was the setting, since it didn’t really seem like a mental hospital would be a big part of the plot anymore.